Items that are not what they are

[marwo507547]

So, as someone new to ebay what I find curious is that some items are described as something that they are not - not to say "false" advertising but technically that is what it is. 

So the story, I bought one item that said it was copper and what I got was a foil.  When I received the item I wondered why it weighed so less so I took it out of the case only to find that it was a foil not copper at all - how can a seller describe it as copper when the item clearly is not copper at all.  And then I had to go through the trouble of dealing with this item that wasn't what I wanted. 

The lesson make sure to check what you bought when it arrives - it might look pretty in the case that it came in but open it up and make sure that it is what you bought. 

Is it that hard to describe the item you are trying to sell especially the material it is made from or the quality or condition of the item such that buyers know what it is that they are buying and that they can buy with confidence that what they are purchasing is what they want. 

What items have you bought that were not as they were described when you bought it?

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@marwo507547 wrote:

So, as someone new to ebay what I find curious is that some items are described as something that they are not - not to say "false" advertising but technically that is what it is. 

So the story, I bought one item that said it was copper and what I got was a foil.  When I received the item I wondered why it weighed so less so I took it out of the case only to find that it was a foil not copper at all - how can a seller describe it as copper when the item clearly is not copper at all.  And then I had to go through the trouble of dealing with this item that wasn't what I wanted. 

The lesson make sure to check what you bought when it arrives - it might look pretty in the case that it came in but open it up and make sure that it is what you bought. 

Is it that hard to describe the item you are trying to sell especially the material it is made from or the quality or condition of the item such that buyers know what it is that they are buying and that they can buy with confidence that what they are purchasing is what they want. 

What items have you bought that were not as they were described when you bought it?

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@marwo507547 

The way I see it being a long time buyer in the past and now long time seller going forward, sellers do their best to identify what they are trying to sell. They research or base their info off of packaging (if they have) and then describe. There may be sellers that do mislead but the vast majority ARE trying their best. It's like condition. Totally subjective. You can ask 5 peope to assign condition to an item and get 5 different responses. Lastly "some" sellers in haste to put out 1 more listing do not fully proof their work. Omissions/oversights can occur.

-Lotzofuniquegoodies 

Forgot to add in many sellers are using AI now to create their listings. Usually you can tell who is or isn't. They may also be using something like UPC. Those are not 100 % perfect as tools. As an example, when to use 1 for a hardcover book. eBay's info dump made it an eBook. Something my listing definitely wasn't.

[msau4301]

As lotz has said most sellers do try to describe their items the best they can but sometimes they may be selling items they aren't experts at, in your case they may not know a lot about metals/materials unless they are a specialist in this field. It is also possible of course they were aware but not knowing anything about the item in question maybe they were using "copper" as a colour description, not necessarily as a material/metal.

I think most peopel do check their purchased items carefully when they've arrived and eBay does have their 100% Guarantee (Get the item you expected or get your money refunded), so it's pretty safe as a buyer here. I'm not sure when you say "I had to go through the trouble of dealing with this item that wasn't what I wanted" if that means you requested you opened a money back guarantee case?

In a case like this (when you are unhappy after item arrives) the first thing I would have done is reach out to the seller and tell them your issue of thinking it was copper and it was foil and see what they said. There reason (excuse maybe) will still help shed some light on the situation.